


Saturday in the Park with Billy

by helsinkibaby



Category: FBI (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Het, Pre Relationship, Romance, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:27:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22930207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: On their day off Jubal and Kristen meet unexpectedly.
Relationships: Kristen Chazal/Jubal Valentine
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	Saturday in the Park with Billy

**Author's Note:**

> Pure undiluted fluff I couldn’t get out of my head. With a bit of an Easter Egg if anyone spots it.

"Daddy, look at the dog!"

Jubal doesn't have to look down at his daughter to know what expression is on her face - eyes wide, smile wide and beaming, her pigtails bouncing up and down with the force of her enthusiasm. Abigail, to put it mildly, is going through a dog crazy stage at the moment - or, really, all her young life - and the dog that she's pointing to, which Jubal knows is a Shih Tzu, is a small and fluffy ball of cuteness, to say nothing of Abigail's current favourite breed of dog. A glance down at Abigail assures him that he interpreted her expression correctly and the way that she's squeezing his hand makes him grin. "Can we go over?" she asks and Jubal shakes his head automatically, because if he gives Abigail the habit of petting every single dog in every single park they go into, his ex-wife will have another thing to hang over him. The list is long enough as it is. 

"Not today, honey," he tells her and he sees her face fall. 

"But he's so cute!" Abigail is still staring over at the dog and Jubal follows her gaze, looking at the ball of fluff, following the line of its collar and leash to the woman who's holding it. She's got her back to him which means that the first thing he notices is her long black ponytail swishing as she crouches down to unclip the leash. When she straightens up, using a harpoon like device to throw a ball for the dog, her dark jacket rides up, exposing a flash of toned midriff to his gaze and Jubal resolutely looks away before he can do much more than register the curve of her ass that her athletic leggings accentuates. The last thing that he wants to do is become one of those weekend dads who holds his daughter's hand as he pervs on the young women in the park. 

Then the woman turns slightly so that he can see her profile and the pull on his eyes makes perfect sense. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time his eyes have been drawn to that particular woman. Far from it, as a matter of fact. 

The word leaves his lips before he can stop it. 

"Kris?" 

The woman - Kristen - turns to see who is calling her and when her eyes land on Jubal, her face lights up with a smile. "Hey!" She purses her lips in a whistle and the dog obediently trots her to her side, falling into step beside her as she meets Jubal and Abigail halfway. "What are you doing in this part of the city?"

Jubal hooks a thumb over his shoulder. "My kid's got some kind of coding workshop at the library down the block." Which he hadn't been too happy about when it had fallen on his weekend off, but what could you do? Tyler had been looking forward to the workshop, didn't want to miss it. "Abigail and I figured we'd check out the playground, maybe get some ice cream while we were waiting." Except Abigail had seen Kristen's dog and the rest was history. "I didn't know you had a dog."

"Oh, I don't." Kristen shakes her head as she looks down at the dog, now sitting quietly at her heel, eyes alert, tail wagging. "He's my neighbour's dog... but Mrs Murphy had a hip replacement two weeks ago, so I'm helping her out with walking Billy while she can't." Jubal can't help it, he shudders and Kristen frowns slightly before there's a movement at Jubal's side that has her eyes moving from Jubal's face to Abigail's. When Jubal looks down at his daughter, he has to bite the inside of his cheek because she's literally vibrating with excitement. "Would you like to pet him?" 

Abigail's eyes grow even wider, something Jubal would have said wasn't possible and while he's not a dad who gives in to his kid's every demand, he knows that to say no to Abigail right now would result in a tantrum of truly epic proportions. Besides, it's not like he has any worries about anything going wrong - he trusts Kristen, the dog looks pretty well behaved so the worst that can happen is Abigail's going home to Samantha and Allan pleading for a dog and she's been doing that for the last three years anyway, so there's nothing new there. "Abigail, this is Kristen...we work together," he tells her, just in case she hasn't worked that out. Also so that she won't think she can just go up to random people in the park and ask to pet their dogs. "And yes, you can pet the dog."

Abigail doesn't have to be asked twice, dropping to her knees and reaching out a hand to rub Billy's head. The dog tilts his head and if Jubal didn't know better, he'd swear it was smiling. His tongue darts out, small and pink and Abigail giggles in delight as he licks her hand. "It tickles!" she squeals and Jubal and Kristen both laugh. 

Kristen kneels down beside the dog and Abigail, showing the girl how Billy likes to be scratched. The dog promptly rolls over onto his back, four paws in the air, presenting his belly to be them both and watching Kristen and Abigail, their heads close together, their laughter mingling together, Jubal feels his chest tighten. 

He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the sight. If he said he didn’t enjoy it, didn’t think that he could get used to it, very easily indeed. He’s done a great job for a long time of ignoring whatever feelings he might have for Kristen. But this? This is not so easily ignored. 

Kristen holds the ball-thrower up to Abigail. "You want to throw the ball for him?" Abigail nods so quickly that Jubal's half afraid her head will fly right off but when he looks down at Kristen, she's biting her lip as she looks up at him, suddenly hesitant. "If that's okay, of course." 

Jubal waves a hand. "Go for it." Which means he gets to spend another couple of minutes watching Kristen interact with his daughter, explaining to her how the mechanism works, what she needs to do to make the ball fly furthest. Abigail can sometimes be shy with strangers but Kristen has her eating out of her hand and Jubal knows enough to know that it’s not just to do with the dog. It’s all Kristen. Pretty soon, Billy is chasing after the ball, Abigail is bouncing up and down and running to meet him as he returns with the ball in his mouth and Jubal is looking down at Kristen trying to keep back a smile. 

"So, let me get this straight," he says. "You're a great field agent, an even better analyst. You could probably teach the coding workshop Tyler is at. You can build a computer, you can dismantle a bomb, you're kind to old people, good with kids... is there anything you can't do?"

Kristen tilts her head, wrinkles her nose like she's thinking about it. Her answer takes him by surprise. "Knit."

"Knit?" It was pretty much the last thing he'd expected her to say. 

"My grandma tried to teach me when I was about Abigail's age; I just couldn't get the co-ordination, you know?" She shrugs, her eyes following Abigail's movements. "I used to tell her, 'Grandma, if I want a new sweater, I'm gonna buy a new sweater!'" She laughs softly. "I was kind of a brat." 

Jubal eyes her up and down. "I find that very hard to believe."

There's a moment's silence, then Kristen's eyes narrow and she turns to face Jubal, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why don't you like Billy's name?" Jubal blinked, taken aback - he hadn't thought she'd noticed. He realises quickly that he should have known better. "You shuddered when you heard his name. What gives?" 

Jubal rolls his eyes. "I used that name undercover once." Even the memory makes his skin crawl. "The character was a real creep. Not a good memory." He leave it at that, sees Kristen's lips make a small round "Ah" of understanding. 

"Well, I'm sorry to bring that up." Kristen's still grinning. "And I'm also sorry if she ends up going home begging for a dog." 

"Oh, believe me, that's nothing new. She's wanted a dog since before she could talk. When they were living in the city, it was easier to say no. Now they're in the suburbs, she's upped the ante." He looks down at Kristen. "If she could use computers, she'd probably make up a PowerPoint to support her case." He pauses for effect, holds up a hand. "And no, that's not a hint. Please don't teach her your ways." 

"I promise." Kristen holds up her hands, as if in surrender. "She's really good with him though. And so well behaved." 

"Yeah... she's a good kid, they both are. We're lucky." 

Kristen gives him a look that makes clear she thinks he's an idiot. "You know it's more than luck." 

He decides to take that as a compliment, especially when she reaches out and touches his wrist as she says it. The touch sends an almost electric charge through him and her pupils dilate as he stares into her eyes. She doesn’t drop her hand. "We do our best." He looks over to Abigail then, frowns when he sees how far away she's getting. "Hey, Abigail, come back here." He doesn't even get the sentence finished before Kristen whistles again, which sends Billy bounding towards her, Abigail hot on his heels. He shoots Kristen a grateful look and she shoots him a grin in return. "Having fun, kiddo?" 

Abigail says exactly what he expects her to say. "Daddy, I want a dog like Billy!"

Before Jubal has to say anything to break his daughter's heart, Kristen speaks up. "Abigail, I promise, I'll talk to your dad at work, we'll make sure that you and Billy get to play together some more, okay?" She meets his eyes, one shoulder rising in a shrug, like she's half expecting him to contradict her. "I think he really likes you." 

"Thank you!" Abigail lurches forward, wrapping her arms around Kristen's waist in a ferocious hug and Kristen laughs in surprise, wrapping her arms around Abigail's shoulders. Abigail's voice is muffled in Kristen's jacket when she says, "Daddy, is that okay?"

"Sure it is." He ruffles her hair. "Now, I think we should let Kris and Billy go on with their day... I'm pretty sure I saw an ice cream truck on our way over here, you want to get some ice cream?" 

He's never known his daughter to refuse ice cream, thinks it's the one thing that could get her to leave the dog without a fight. He's proven wrong though because his daughter grabs Kristen's hand, looks up at her with beseeching eyes. Jubal, for all his principles, has rarely been able to refuse those eyes. He thinks that Kristen, a complete novice at dealing with them, doesn't have a hope. "Daddy, can Kris come with us? Pleeeeeease?" 

Abigail is gripping Kristen's hand so tightly that her knuckles are white. Kristen smiles down at her, then back up at Jubal, her shoulder rising and falling in a shrug once again. Jubal copies the motion, runs a hand over his lips. "You're more than welcome," he tells her. "Unless you have other plans." 

Kristen bites her lip, considering, and Abigail senses weakness. "Please, Kris, please?" 

Kristen's tongue sweeps across her lips and Jubal grins, relaxing as he recognises it for the tell it is. "I'd love to," Kristen says and Abigail actually squeals, does it again when Kristen says, "You want to hold the leash while we walk?" 

Which is how Jubal comes to be walking half a step behind the two females, one of Abigail's hands holding Billy's leash, the other gripping onto Kristen's as she tells her all about her friends at school and the dogs they have and how much she wants one of her very own. Abigail chatters so much that neither he nor Kristen can get a word in, only stopping when she's sitting on a bench, ice cream cone in hand, licking it happily as Billy lies on the bench beside her, his head in her lap. Standing beside the bench, Jubal looks down at Kristen. "You know you just made my kid's day, right?" She beams and he takes a deep breath. "Although... it does mean we'll have to arrange another date so that she can see Billy again." 

He chooses his words carefully, subtle enough that if he’s reading things wrong, if he’s misinterpreting things, she can just talk about Abigail and Billy, completely skate over the fact that the word “play” was missing in front of “date”. But there’s a definite flicker in Kristen's eyes as she gets his meaning - he hadn't been kidding when he'd called her a great analyst. "I think we could work something out," she says slowly. "Although... if you wanted to meet, just the two of us, just to make sure?" 

He pretends to consider it. "That might be an idea." He waggles his head from side to side. "You got any plans tonight?" 

He might be pushing his luck but when her smile brightens, he doesn't think he is. "I do now," she says and suddenly, Jubal is thinking his lucky stars for Saturday afternoon coding competitions.


End file.
